by Jose Julian Meneses
I can’t imagine a circle – triangle shape, an invisible man, a flying bird without wings, a fast turtle, a mute that can speak, a deaf that can hear, a blind that can see or lastly a true Filipino. What is really a Filipino? A very hard question to answer but can explain in some ways. Filipinos prepared and spend a lot for festivals and other big occasions, Filipinos wanted some things to be filled of full decorations, Filipinos idolized so much many imported objects, foreigners and other countries, Filipinos believe strongly to superstitious, Filipinos still love the corrupt politicians, and Filipinos prayed a lot but less in applications. This is not to show how negative Filipinos are but this is the reality many lacks and weaknesses and it simply shows a call for a change. Let’s change the Filipino essence. We can’t deny that we Filipinos were mixed of different colonizers. That’s why there is no a question why we can easily adjust to the situations wherever we are and it is a positive view. We can do this and that because we are born to be like that. We were for everything. Unlike to other races we are unique. A German child is born by German couples, a Chinese child is born by Chinese couples, but Filipinos is born by different persons and described as many citizenships. There are no questions why we Filipinos are very distance apart with one another in terms of personalities. Therefore, there could be no absolute Filipino.
I just realized something else. You may agree with me or not but I personally somehow conclude theoretically that Filipino himself is a philosophy. How come? Isn’t that philosophy is used to applied for people’s daily lives? Widens our understanding of things? To be reasonable enough in dealing with the situations? Now if I to connect it with “a Filipino”, as I said, Filipinos can adjust to whatever there is because they are packed with different personalities. Just like philosophy, it adjusts to every what there is because it was made to be applicable or idealistic. Philosophy is also packed with different philosophers. Filipino can understand many things because of the big efforts they have. Just like philosophy, it makes man to be more understandable of things. Filipino have this personality of “diskarte” which means they have the capacity to make reasons if they want just to escape about something. Just like philosophy, it is made for man to be reasonable. If there is the western philosophy there could be also a Filipino philosophy for it has the attributes of a philosophy. Somehow, no need of texts and explanations because Filipino himself is already the Filipino philosophy. A kind of a living philosophy that if you want to study the Filipino philosophy you need to study what is a Filipino by experience and time. However, I can’t imagine it consistently the things I have reflected whenever I go back to the reality of what Filipinos do today. What we see of a Filipino right now is not truly in himself but only influenced by others. To be a true Filipino we need to overcome the bad things within us that destroys other fellow Filipinos too. The more we do bad things the many will be affected and influenced. It’s a cycle explanations. Filipinos became like this because of other’s influence and the one who influence was like that because of the influence of the others. What are we right now is just an absurdity. Meaning to say, the start of a true Filipino, that is a “diskarte” Being or even more than what we see right now, begins in every one of us. It is to se the real essence as being truly a Filipino. Let’s change what is the Filipino right now into a better Filipino but still remains as a Filipino.
Philo Notes 